Chapter 2

The following day, Lisa got names for her petition. Lisa also looked by the bus stop and saw Cindy getting her signatures. When the bus left, Lisa talked with Cindy. Lisa said, "I can't believe it. You're getting names, too." Cindy said, "Correct. I already have two hundred signatures, only fifty short of winning." Lisa said, "How can that be possible? I only have forty signatures." Lisa took Cindy's petition and read the names on it. Shirley came over to them because she saw them fighting. Lisa said, "Ydnic Rezzub. I don't know any Rezzub." Cindy said, "Neither do I." Lisa said, "Asil Teews and Yelrihs Semloh." Cindy said, "I don't know them." Lisa said, "Wait a minute." Lisa held her compact from her purse near Cindy's petition. Lisa said, "That's Cindy Buzzer backward. I knew it. And I guess Asil and Yelrihs are Lisa and Shirley."

Shirley took the petition and looked through the pages. Shirley said, "All the names on this petition got spelled backward." Cindy said, "But I had at least twenty real names spelled forwards." Shirley said, "Cindy, where was the last place who had your petition?" Cindy said, "At my stand. I left it to go to the bathroom and took the petition home." Shirley said, "Let me see your stand."

Cindy showed Shirley her stand, and Shirley started to investigate. Shirley looked at the flyers, and they seemed ok. Shirley looked under the booth next but didn't find any clues. Cindy left Shirley alone while investigating, and Shirley was getting suspicious. Shirley felt a breeze on her and started to get cold. Shirley said, "Cold." Shirley looked up and saw a vent above her. Once she saw it, Shirley had a theory and used the rope from her backpack to climb up to the vent. Shirley then opened the vent and climbed inside. When she got in, she saw a hooded figure she thought was the culprit skimming through many papers. Shirley said, "Cindy's petition."

When the hooded figure saw and heard Shirley, he crawled away fast. Shirley saw the hooded figure crawling away and then chased after him. The hooded figure jumped down a chute and slid to the bottom of the vents. Shirley crawled around in the ducts and jumped down the same line the hooded figure did. When Shirley reached the bottom, she saw two ways to go and went to the right. Shirley saw an exit, opened it, and crawled out of the vents. Shirley said, "He must have gone the other way. It's too late to go after him."

Shirley returned to her hotel to rest and tried to add up her clues. Shirley said, "Ok, I have one attack on each protester. I also have a mysterious figure who might be the culprit. And finally, my only suspect is Cindy Buzzer, who might have taken her petition on purpose." Shirley went back to the school after she finished adding up her clues. Shirley walked down the hall to the cafeteria and saw Lisa handing out brownies shaped like iPods with a boy so people would sign her petition. Shirley spoke to Lisa, hoping she could give her some answers. Shirley said, "Hi Lisa, who's this?" Lisa said, "This is my friend, Kyle Wilton." Shirley said, "Wait, Kyle Wilton. You're an equipment manager and had full access to the tennis ball shooter that took out Lisa's stand." Kyle said, "True, but I didn't do it. Lisa's too much of a friend to me for me to do something like that."

Meanwhile, somebody hiding around the corner opened a box of picnic ants, opened the cafeteria doors, and threw the box under Lisa's stand. While Lisa was talking to Shirley, she saw all her brownies walking away. Shirley and Lisa ran away and collected all of Lisa's brownies, but while they were gone, somebody grabbed Lisa's petition and shredded it. Lisa and Shirley heard a sound coming from Lisa's stand, so they kept quiet. Finally, Shirley said, "Do you hear something?" Shirley and Lisa returned to Lisa's booth and saw Lisa's petition shredded. Lisa screamed, "No! My petition got SHREDDED!" Shirley went through the shreds and found a paintbrush in them. Shirley said, "Here's a clue. I bet whoever's behind this has been in the Art Room."

Shirley went to the Art Room and found a piece of the hooded figure's hood in the door. Shirley said, "That mysterious figure came this way." While there, she saw a kid named Scott Hansen painting a picture. Shirley said, "Who are you?" Scott said, "I'm Scott." Shirley said, "Well, what are you doing here?" Scott said, "Just painting a picture because I'm a true artist." Shirley said, "Interesting. That's all for now." After Shirley questioned Scott, she looked around the Art Room and saw a bunch of spilled paint on the floor. She knelt, looked at the spilled paint bottle, and found a piece of black hair. Shirley said, "The same shade of black as Cindy's hair."

Shirley left The Art Room and went to question Cindy. Shirley went to the gym and saw Cindy handing out flyers for her campaign. Cindy said, "And tell everybody to sign my petition." Shirley said, "Cindy. I found this hairpiece in the Art Room, and it matches your hair." Cindy said, "I was there earlier making signs for my campaign. It must have fallen off." Shirley said, "What about Lisa's shredded petition?" Cindy said, "No way. I've seen Lisa protest, and she doesn't stand a chance against me."

Shirley left the gym and decided to get answers from the school's computer instead. Shirley went to The Computer Lab, and while she was there, she saw a boy named Brad Munson, who was printing out pictures of Cindy. Shirley said, "Who are you?" Brad said, "I'm Brad." Shirley said, "What are those pictures for?" Brad said, "Cindy is my ex-girlfriend. I'm printing these pictures so I can win her back." Shirley asked, "Why are you trying to win her back if you broke up?" Brad said, "Because she's the perfect girl for me. She may not have any more feelings for me, but I still feel for her." Shirley said, "Looks like a dead end. Better do that research on Cindy."

Shirley went to a computer and typed in Cindy Buzzer. Shirley clicked on a link, and it showed her information on Cindy. Shirley said, "It says Cindy gets detention more often than anybody in her school. It also says that Cindy has a grudge against any boy or girl who has a perfect attendance record and is always nice. So, it looks like Cindy has a grudge against good people. So basically, Cindy doesn't hate Lisa. She hates her attendance record and personality." While Shirley was researching, a paper airplane flew in through the window and hit Shirley's head. Shirley grabbed the aircraft, opened it, and read what was inside it. Finally, Shirley said, "Stop working on this case, or you'll never solve another case again."